Oslo Rountable on Sustainable Production and ConsumptionPart 1 - THE IMPERATIVE OF SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION1.2 Defining sustainable consumption

The Oslo Symposium in 1994 proposed a working definition of sustainable consumption as
the use of goods and services that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life,
while minimising the use of natural resources, toxic materials and emissions of waste and
pollutants over the life cycle, so as not to jeopardise the needs of future generations.

Sustainable consumption is an umbrella term that brings together a number of key issues, such as
meeting needs, enhancing the quality of life, improving resource efficiency, increasing the use of
renewable energy sources, minimising waste, taking a life cycle perspective and taking into account
the equity dimension. Integrating these component parts is the central question of how to provide
the same or better services to meet the basic requirements of life and the aspirations for
improvement for both current and future generations, while continually reducing environmental
damage and risks to human health. A key issue is therefore the extent to which necessary
improvements in environmental quality can be achieved through the substitution of more efficient
and less polluting goods and services (patterns of consumption), rather than through reductions in
the volumes of goods and services consumed (levels of consumption). Political reality in
democratic societies is such that it will be much easier to change consumption patterns than
consumption volumes, although both issues need to be addressed.

Underlying the current debate on sustainable consumption is a growing awareness that reforms in
national economic policies are required to ensure that goods and services reflect environmental
costs and so stimulate more sustainable production and consumption patterns. At the same time,
countries are continuing to increase their income and gross national product. It is possible to
increase incomes while reducing resource use. However, the risk remains that an increasing volume
of consumption will more than outweigh improvements in energy and resource efficiencies. There
will be occasions when opportunities for economic growth conflict with moves towards sustainable
consumption. All actors need to be aware of such possible conflicts. If sustainable consumption is
to be achieved, then it will become increasingly necessary in such situations to put sustainability
first. This will not necessarily require economic sacrifices: indeed welfare and employment may be
increased.

Getting the world onto a sustainable consumption trajectory will take decades. Current capital
stocks of physical infrastructure, for example in housing, energy, transportation and waste
management, can lock societies into unsustainable patterns of consumption over which individual
consumers have little influence. Furthermore, many unsustainable patterns of consumption are
deeply rooted in cultural habits, despite increasing evidence that many citizens are now ready to re-
examine their lifestyles. As a result, action to develop infrastructures and cultural norms that
enable rather than constrain sustainable consumption choices will have to take place gradually,
with the full participation of all stakeholders. This realisation should not, however, obscure the
wealth of options that already exist for governments, business and individuals to make a decisive
shift in consumption patterns towards sustainability.

Agenda 21 recognised the great imbalances in global and national patterns of consumption and
production. At the international level, action to change demand and lifestyles in the developed
world must take place within a global dialogue that addresses the dual challenges of improving
both the environmental quality and equity of consumption. Although it is clear that the levels of
consumption of the world's poor must increase, the distribution of income and wealth will not be
changed by demand-side measures to promote sustainable patterns of consumption. Since
consumption, sustainable or unsustainable, depends on a number of conditions such as effective
purchasing power and control over natural resources, other measures will be needed to provide the
necessary resources for the poor to meet their needs. Combating poverty is also a critical element
of sustainability, and it will be discussed separately by the CSD.

Changing consumption patterns in the developed world also needs to be managed in ways that
increases the opportunities for sustainable development in the developing world. There are
numerous products with environmental advantages, which are produced by developing countries
and which can improve the added value of production. They can be substituted for environmentally
less desirable products, either as inputs to the production process, or as consumption goods.
Increased utilization of these products could help to reduce environmental stress without impairing
consumer satisfaction, while at the same time increasing the foreign exchange resources of
developing countries.